She reminded him of her father, and she was Nick’s baby sister. No, she wasn’t the one for him. The deck was just stacked against him too much; he couldn’t risk it. Mind over dick, mind over dick…
* * *
Melanie was lying in bed wondering what had gotten into her tonight. How had she not recognized Zane right off? She’d had a slight crush on him as a teenager, but had been all too aware that he was out of her league, and at the time, way too old for her. Then all the shit about that bitch Faye betraying him and Dad falling for Faye’s lies had happened. She knew Zane harbored a lot of resentment against her father. Her dad hadn’t been there for him when he’d needed him the most.
Zane had survived a rough childhood. He had lost his father in a car accident when he was a boy and his mother, who had been in the accident, never could get her life back on track. Zane did his best to be the man in the family, however his mother was never able to fulfill her role. She had become withdrawn and had always felt ill, becoming addicted to painkillers and alcohol.
Melanie recalled a play in which Zane had earned the lead role. Nicholas had been in the same play. Zane had been so proud, telling Nick that he had saved a seat in the front row for his mother. He’d thought she was really going to show up this time. Once again, though, his mother was not to be found. Melanie still remembered his face when he had seen the empty seat. She’d cried for him when he wasn’t looking. She hated his mother and the woman’s incessant pretense of being sick to cover her addictions.
After that night, Zane had finally realized that he couldn’t depend on his mother. Every time he had believed her lies—that she was going to be better—she had found some way to let him down again. Melanie thought that was the reason her father’s behavior when Zane had been accused had hurt him so badly—it was one more person letting him down. He had already grown accustomed to being betrayed and became distrustful of everyone. Her father and Zane’s mother had both proved that they couldn’t be there when he needed them. The only person that brought out his lighter side was Nicholas.
Nicholas just had that effect on people. You always knew Nick had your back. It was why he was so popular with his fans and the women. Nick was a protector and people were drawn to him. She was lucky to have him as a brother.
Zane used to observe her father training Nick. She had been watching the day Zane was sixteen-years-old and had walked up to her father. He had been nervous, but at the same time, he had been attempting to act aloof and tough. She recalled wondering what he was doing.
Zane had surprised her when he’d looked up to her father and asked, “Mr. Brooks, can I start training with you?” Zane was putting himself out there, which was something he never did. He hated depending on anyone.
She smiled thinking of her father’s response. “Call me Rex, and I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”
Zane had been so happy, yet he’d acted as grown up as he could. “Thank you, sir. You won’t be disappointed.”
Her father had started training Zane the next day.
Melanie had consistently found excuses to hang around the gym just to watch the two. Where Nicholas never seemed to tire, Zane had the lightning fast reflexes. Over the next few years, they made each other the best fighters in the league.
Incredibly, there had never been any jealousy between them. That was partly due to the fact that they had, luckily, never been put in a position to fight one another, though it was something that the league and press had been starting to discuss. Then the fight throwing accusations occurred, and it had taken Zane over a year to prove his innocence.
She was aware, through her brother, that he was now training other fighters, but was still angry with the league and holding a grudge against her dad for assuming he was guilty. It was a shame that he hadn’t made it back to the cage yet. She hoped it was just a matter of time.
Zane was always left to fight his own battles—proving he was up to any challenge—surely he could rise against the betrayals he had suffered to enter the cage again? Melanie hoped so; he more than deserved another chance.
Nicholas would bring him into the conversation every now and then, making her wonder if Zane had changed. Well, her question had been answered. Yes and no. While he was still distrusting—his eyes holding a wariness that he made no effort to conceal—he was now older, more mature, and exhibited a ruthlessness that would make him a frightening adversary in the ring. His body wasn’t that of a boy any longer; it was that of a man who had turned his body into a lethal weapon. Melanie was kind of glad that her brother and Zane wouldn’t be in the ring together anytime soon.
She replayed the night in her mind, remembering the sight of his black t-shirt defining every ripple on his tall, muscular body. Something about his aura had called to her tonight. She thought about that moment on the dance floor when she’d looked into his grey eyes, and just thinking about his perfectly chiseled cheeks and sensuous lips had her heart racing again. He was the perfect height for her; she had a weakness for men that made her feel small. She was also certain he could handle her easily.
She had never imagined she could be so forward. She was definitely blaming Trish and the tequila shot for her actions.
But God, he was so freaking perfect—everything she wanted in a man wrapped up in a sexy package. He probably thought Nick’s little sister had grown up to be a whore. She hated that thought. What in the hell had she been thinking? She could have put herself in a dangerous situation. She was lucky it had been Zane.
Once their moment had ended and he’d realized who she was, she’d seen him pull back and shut down. She understood, yet it hurt too much to see that look after the moment they had just shared. She firmly believed he’d felt the same as she had before they’d realized the truth.
She tossed and turned for the rest of the night, remembering the look on his face when he’d realized who she was. Thankfully, she wouldn’t be seeing him anytime soon.
Chapter 5
It had been a month since Melanie had run into Zane. Her training was going better as she was focusing more on what Tobias was telling her to do and it was working. She was realizing that she couldn’t just copy Nicholas’s moves for herself. Plus, focusing on Tobias helped block Zane from her mind.
During the day, her thoughts constantly drifted back to that night at the bar. She found herself imagining the kisses and his hard body while she was sitting in class. She couldn’t remember anything from her lectures and knew she had to buckle down to keep up her grades. Training was her reprieve from all of that reverie—her thoughts couldn’t stray during training, Tobias would take advantage of any opening.
“Much better, Melanie,” Tobias complimented her after Melanie had easily applied a spinning back fist to his face. She was surprised that she had been able to get one in on Tobias so easily and was proud of her progress.
“Thanks, Tobias. Sorry it’s taken so long to break all my bad habits. All those years of watching Nicholas and trying to mimic him must have been holding me back,” Melanie replied.
“I understand. Execution is key, and you seem to be finally picking up what I’ve been teaching you. It might be time to start thinking about a real match. Not too soon, but I see a lot of potential in you.” Tobias was being encouraging for the first time since his training her had commenced. She had begun to think about finding another trainer.
Melanie smiled. She was one step closer to achieving her goal of getting in the cage to prove what she was capable of. She couldn’t wait for her father to finally accept her as a fighter.
She saw Macey in the background and couldn’t help giving her a smug smile. Macey smirked in return. What was her problem anyway? She still couldn’t understand why Macey was such a bitch to her. She almost strangled Macey a couple of weeks ago when she walked into the back room and found some of the women watching video footage of Melanie being taken to the mat during some of the previous training sessions. She wanted to kick the nasty grins off of all their faces. M
elanie glanced up to look at the cameras throughout the gym, cameras were fucking everywhere these days.
Melanie shrugged to herself, who cared. It wouldn’t be much longer before she could shove that smirk down her throat.
Melanie allowed herself sometime in the sauna and stayed longer than normal. It was dark and she assumed everyone else had left for the day. After she had enough of the warmth, she went into one of the dressing rooms to change into her street clothes. She liked the locker room; it had definitely been designed for women. So many typical gyms had curtains or doors that didn’t provide much privacy when changing; it always felt like someone was going to walk in on you. This locker room, though, had nice sized changing areas with doors that actually locked.
As she sat down to put her socks on, she heard some people enter the room.
“Nice work, Tobias.” It was Macey’s voice.
Melanie rolled her eyes; she couldn’t stand her irritating voice.
“It’s taken me a while, but the stupid girl actually thinks I’m helping her,” Tobias replied.
Melanie stilled, wondering whom they were talking about as Tobias continued, “It’s been a bitch attempting to change her technique without her realizing what I’ve been trying to do. She was actually pretty good, at least she was.”
When they went silent for the moment, it sounded like they were kissing. She thought she heard a moan from Macey. Melanie honestly had no idea they were involved with each other.
“Tobias…” Macey’s moan became louder.
“That’s it, Macey. Get wet for me,” Tobias commanded.
Melanie started to get up to let them know they were not alone, however as she started to open the door, she heard Macey’s voice again.
“I can’t wait for Nick to watch his little sister get her ass beat when she has her first fight.” Macey sounded pleased. “Tobias, I’m going to thank you in ways you’ve never dreamed were possible.”
“I don’t know about that, Macey. I have some very specific fantasies concerning you and that mouth of yours.”
Melanie almost made a sound when she realized they were talking about her.
Tobias gave an ugly laugh. “I’ll keep working with her—she’s going to go into her first fight with no idea of what she’s walking into. Her moves won’t get her past the first round.” Melanie heard them kissing again. “She was damn good, just too hesitant on the offensive. It was easy to convince her that she was doing it wrong. With the way I’ve made her do all those moves incorrectly, she won’t know what’s coming in the cage.” Tobias sounded so proud of how he’d been sabotaging Melanie all this time while taking her money to train her.
“Nick has always worshipped his sister. I can’t wait to see his face when she gets her face beat in and hopefully a few broken bones. That will teach him for the way he treated me,” Macey declared. “Tobias, I want your dick right now.”
Melanie could tell from the coldness in Macey’s voice that she wanted Tobias’s dick like she wanted a toothache.
Melanie was in shock. For the last two years, she had spent every extra penny she had and every bit of extra time in this gym for absolutely nothing. Just because of some bitter girl that had made a play for Nick.
Nick never tried to lead any woman on; he was always open about his career coming first. However, it didn’t stop countless women from trying to be the one to catch him. Melanie had not been given the impression that Macey had been one of those women. Nick would never go for a catty bitch like Macey. She wondered what had really happened between the two of them. It must have been bad for Macey to go after Melanie for revenge.
She finished getting dressed, slamming open the dressing room door. She was satisfied as she watched them both jump. Macey was sitting on the counter with her red sports bra pushed up around her neck and nothing else on. Tobias was standing between her legs, which were straddled around his waist. His shorts were partially pulled down and his dick was inside Macey. They both scurried to cover themselves.
Melanie wanted to kill her, yet she knew she wasn’t ready to take Macey on yet. She also wanted to take on Tobias, but couldn’t do anything at the moment. She would find the right time, though.
“You’re a low life, piece of shit, Macey. All this because of my brother? You got to be fucking kidding me?!” Melanie looked at Tobias. “And you, you’ve been taking my money for the past two years. I’m going to destroy your reputation as a trainer. You better start looking for a new line of work. When I’m done, you’ll be lucky to find a job. I want my money back.” She confronted them both, uncaring about Tobias’s limp noodle of a dick or the view of Macey’s cunt.
“You can’t prove shit. I’ll just say it’s sour grapes because I dropped you. Everyone in the gym knows what I think of your fighting skills.” Now that his dick was covered, Tobias’s confidence was returning.
Melanie turned back to Macey. “I’ll see you in the cage.” Now wasn’t the time to let her temper get the best of her. Tobias was right, she couldn’t prove a thing.
Macey laughed, seeing the realization on Melanie’s face. “You can’t beat me, you stupid bitch.” She composed herself quickly, not wanting Macey to see her words had hit home. “I’ll be glad to beat the living shit out of you, if the league even lets you fight me. You’re not anywhere near as good as me and never will be. I’ll take you on anytime,” Macey gloated, not in the least afraid of meeting her in the cage.
“Oh, you’ll see me in the cage. I’m going to take your title,” Melanie stated, determined to do whatever it took to bring the woman down.
Melanie saw Macey hesitate slightly before she replied, “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Chapter 6
Zane was punishing the heavy bag in the back corner of the gym. It had been about a month since that night at the club and he had done a fairly good job of pushing the memories out of his head. Right now, he was a having a flashback and needed to vent. Since none of the wannabes in the club could hold their own with him, he had to let out his frustration on the bag. Some of the guys were watching him alternate between punches and kicks. Ty was watching him, too.
“Hey, Zane, if you need to blow off some steam, I’m game.”
Zane paused, picking up the towel he had laid down. Wiping the sweat from his face and chest, he chose his words carefully. “Next time, Ty. Work on taking a hit from Lane without stepping back, then I’ll let you pretend to be my punching bag.”
Ty grinned, not offended. “I’ll take you up on that. You said yourself, I’m getting better.”
Zane liked Ty. What wasn’t there to like? He worked hard, took his training seriously, and was constantly working to improve himself. He reminded Zane a lot of himself. He deserved the break Zane had given him on his training fees and the free rent, but if he slacked off, Zane wouldn’t hesitate to throw him out. Ty knew that, it was what kept him in line.
Without some sort of control, Ty was a train wreck waiting to happen. He could be bad-tempered and easily lost control, and if he wasn’t careful, it would lead to his irrevocably hurting someone inside or outside the cage. Ty was aware, however, that he had to stay out of trouble to hold on to his spot.
“Hey, Zane, someone is here to see you,” Linc yelled across the gym.
Lincoln had been with Zane since he’d opened the gym. He was a hell of trainer and had fought for years himself. He had retired from the cage several years ago, but like Zane, wanted to stay with the sport in some capacity.
Zane did one last spin before kicking the bag, then headed to the front of the gym. As he walked towards the front door, he noticed all the guys had stopped and were staring ahead. He wondered what had grabbed their attention. Moving closer, he sucked in his breath. It was her. He made sure his face didn’t portray any emotions as he continued his approach.
“Hi, Zane, can we talk?” Melanie asked. She was hot in her work out gear with her long hair pulled into a loose ponytail. He could see the anxiety in her green eyes and wonder
ed what had brought her to his gym.
“Follow me.”
Melanie trailed behind him to his office at the back of the gym, and as she walked through the facility, Zane noticed the men couldn’t take their eyes off her. She was wearing tight, black pants with a hot pink, tight tank that showed every single curve on her body.
“Get back to work,” he yelled to the gawkers. They all slowly turned away after getting one more, long look.
Zane walked into his office and shut the door behind Melanie. He then walked behind his desk and waited for her to start talking.
He was surprised to see her as well as curious about what would force her into his gym. He bet from the look on her face it hadn’t been easy.
He had finally gotten over the guilt of touching Nick’s sister, justifying it by telling himself he hadn’t known who she was at the time. He was an expert at easing his conscience when he fucked up.
Melanie stood there for a moment before speaking. “Zane, what happened the other night… that wasn’t me. I had a rough week and one too many shots of tequila.”
“That’s certainly one way to begin a conversation; let a man know the only reason you were like a bitch in heat was because you were in a fucked up mood and drunk,” Zane snapped at her. If she was there because she didn’t want Nicholas to know about their make-out session, all she had to do was ask. Her attempt of excusing her behavior was just pissing him off.
“I didn’t mean it like that, asshole! I told you I wasn’t myself that night,” Melanie snapped back. “I saw you and something about you drew me to you. I guess I subconsciously recognized you. I don’t know…”
Zane just stared at her before coming around the desk and walking slowly towards her until she backed herself up against the door. “So what are you doing here?” he asked in a soft, seductive tone. He placed his hands on the door, locking her into place between his arms. “You want more? Are you having another bad week and need someone to fuck?”
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